JLJ: Girl of Tomorrow
by Gundam Kaiser
Summary: In their final hour, the scientists Jor-El and his wife Lara send their dear child away in a spaceship. Kara Zor-El is found by the loving Takamachi family and raised as their own daughter, before eventually discovering that she has powers far beyond those of ordinary mortals. Renamed Nanoha, the Girl of Tomorrow uses her powers for love, truth, and great justice! Go Supergirl go!
1. Prologue

As a planet on the far side of the galaxy fell into its sun, its most renowned scientist placed his newborn daughter in an experimental rocket.

"Our world will soon be gone, and because of those government fools, so too will our race. I'm so sorry that the legacy must fall to you, Kara."

Lara, his wife, added a series of data-encoded crystals to ensure that their daughter would one day know where she came from, and that even in death, her birth parents loved her.

Jor-El said, "For the past few months, I had begun to despair in my search for a suitable planet, but one has turned up at the last minute. A beautiful, blue world. The third planet in orbit around a yellow sun. From the calculations I've been able to run, its atmosphere should be more than adequate to support you, and while the gravity's lower than it is here, I feel that it won't be a concern."

After Lara kissed their daughter on the forehead, Jor-El closed the cockpit and activated the thrusters.

"But, more than anything else, I have studied the people of this planet. And while they are primitive in the face of our science, it is above all else their capacity for good, that causes me to believe that you will be loved and cared for."

Convincing himself one last time that this was the best course of action - for his daughter, for his species, and his civilization - Jor-El punched the controls, sending the vessel on its cosmic journey.

The rocket escaped the star system just as Rao went nova.

* * *

Two Japanese children were training in the woods outside their home when the girl happened to look in the sky.

"Hey look, Kyouya, a falling star!"

Kyouya stopped himself from kicking her legs out from under her to take a look.

However, the star seemed odd.

"If I'm not mistaken, Miyuki..." His eyes narrowed. "Then that falling star is heading in this direction."

Miyuki's expression said it all.

A moment later, and the kids were briefly by the shockwave, ears ringing from the deafening roar of reentry.

As the dust settled, the brother asked, "Miyuki, are you all right?"

"Ehn... I'm fine, big brother. I wonder what that was...?"

"Miyuki, wait!"

Heedless of her brother's warning, Miyuki hopped over to the crater.

"Kyouya, I think this is some kind of spaceship - it's definitely no meteor!"

Concern at her reckless actions beginning to show in his voice, Kyouya tried to stop her...

"Miyuki...!"

But she opened it anyway, and her top half suddenly disappeared as she bent over, giving anyone interested a nice view.

Then she popped up with a baby in her hands, wrapped up in a red blanket.

"Look Kyouya, she's so cute - wait, you thought it was going to have some kind of tentacle monster inside, didn't you?"

Eyes narrowed at his troublesome younger sister, Kyouya muttered, "Always expect the worst..."

"_Jeez_ big brother, you're too young to sound that grumpy! Anyway, let's go see what Mom and Dad think!"

While it didn't affect Kyouya so much, it was clear that the star-baby's cuteness was getting to Miyuki. Knowing that she'd cheerfully ignore him if he tried to stop her, the brother just rolled his eyes and went with it.

A few hours later, Shiro and Momoko had a discussion that, while probably important, was something the author couldn't motivate himself to write out.

The next day, the super-cute redheaded star-baby was in the family registry as Nanoha Takamachi.

* * *

**So here I am, ripping off Shadow Crystal Mage's 2814 verse. Don't worry, though, he practically dared me to do it.**


	2. Destined Meeting

Nanoha Takamachi, kindergarten student, was bawling her eyes out when she came running home on that day.

The wind had been exceptionally strong that day, and from what Shiro could get out of her blubbering, a heavy tree branch had broken off and fallen on her.

Nanoha was, thankfully, unhurt, and her friends had dismissed it as a small miracle.

But the little girl knew that all was not right. She had felt the heavy branch land on her back, knocking her to the ground. It _should_ have hurt her. And instead it was the _branch_ that had broken instead.

She instinctively knew that this fact... should not _be_.

"Daddy? What's wrong with me?"

Her father hugged her fiercely, insisting that there wasn't anything _wrong_ with her.

It was at that point that Momoko, Miyuki, and Kyouya came in. Once the situation was explained again, the parents decided that it was time to tell Nanoha about her origins.

"Nanoha, dear, the truth is that when you were a baby, we found you in a spaceship that crashed outside our home. However, we want you to understand something incredibly important - more important than this could ever be."

"W-what's that?" she sniffled.

Without breaking his poker face for an instant and with all the seriousness in the world, Kyouya explained, "Even though you came to us from beyond the stars, you _are_ one of us. You are still our family, and we love you no matter what - we do now, and we always will. Whether you're from Earth or not doens't matter - you're my little sister, and that's the only thing that _does_."

Momoko ruffled Nanoha's hair a bit, adding, "Everything he said and ten times more. Nothing's _wrong_ with you. And even if there were, it wouldn't change anything. Just as much as Kyouya and Miyuki, you're my little girl and we wouldn't give you up for the world."

Shiro nodded, lifting Nanoha up to his chest. "Even though we can't explain why, you have a wonderful gift. You shouldn't reject it."

Nanoha had stopped crying, and asked, "But then... who am I?"

Miyuki grinned, with a little exasperation. "You're my little sister, silly. Who _else_ would you be?"

Nanoha smiled at that, now confident that she was the same as everyone else. Even if she _was_ at once different.

However, in the coming months and years, she began to display other abilities. Before, she had only shown a strong resistance to injury, although that had begun to rapidly escalate until it approached the state of total invulnerability against anything the Takamachi family dared test on their youngest member.

When Mamoko inadvertantly cut her finger while preparing a meal and reflexively whispered a curse, Nanoha had appeared at once. Despite having been outside playing with her sister, thus indicating enhanced hearing and speed.

Similar incidents revealed that she was developing superhuman sense of smell, and strength throughout her entire body. Tanking a heavy tree branch was nothing next to lifting a fully-loaded freight train with one arm. This was also when it became apparent that she could ignore gravity and actually _fly_. Whether her strength and apparent invulnerability were also some sort of gravity/force manipulation or the result of her muscles being preternaturally powerful, none could say. She also found out that she could rapidly chill the air in her lungs before expelling it as a cloud of supercold vapor - basically, freezing breath. This power was instrumental in protecting the contents of the freezer and refrigerator during a power outage.

Her eyes were special, however, in that they were the source of _multiple_ superpowers. Nanoha was able to see across incredibly vast distances, _and_ to pick out minute details - to the point that if she took a passing glance at the moon, she could locate Neil Armstrong's footprints and count the number of threads woven into the American flag placed during that same mission. She could also see through solid objects, and shoot _very_ destructive heat lasers out of her eyes. These were, by far, the least often-used of her abilities.

She mastered most of her sensory powers fairly quickly, altough she often had a little trouble controlling her strength. It wasn't hard to keep herself out of the _clearly_ superhuman realm, but if she stopped concentrating for even a second she found that she kept snapping pencils when trying to write, as an example. And when she wanted to be affectionate with her family - notably, when hugs came into play - it was awkward, how softly and gingerly she had to embrace those she loved.

To a normal human being, it would be like living in a world made from cardboard, forever having to hold back one's full strength at the risk of unintentionally breaking something. Or some_one_.

A few years later, this came into play when Nanoha witnessed a fight between two of her classmates - Suzuka and Alisa. Nanoha didn't know what they were fighting about, but her first impulse was to intervene and slap some sense into Alisa, who appeared to have started it.

However, she immediately held it in, knowing that despite training with Miyuki and Kyouya, she didn't have the self-control to keep from hurting Alisa with her monstrous strength. So, helpless, she watched as the situation degraded and Suzuka started fighting back.

Whether it was verbally or physically, watching people hurt each other was a surefire way to make Nanoha upset. And the only thing she knew of that could upset her further was being helpless to do anything about it.

She almost began to cry again, and she felt her eyes grow hot. Almost as if there was a flame inside, begging to be unleashed. Determined to try and resolve things peacefully, she tried to reach them with words.

"Stop it."

Neither reacted, being too caught up with each other to notice.

Nanoha couldn't tell without a mirror, but her eyes were glowing red at this point as she took a deep breath and _screamed_.

"STOP! IT!"

Apparently, the strength in her arms and legs also went to her lungs, because the pressure wave generated by her voice had enough force to knock the other girls on their butts.

This event would later be attributed to a sudden gale and miraculous timing.

As the two girls shakily looked at Nanoha, she managed to calm down, the heat in her eyes having subsided with her yell.

Not having quite expected to bowl the girls over, Nanoha took a moment to catch her breath from the outburst, and to gather her thoughts. Composure regained, Nanoha began to try and work things out peacefully.

"I don't know why you were fighting, but people shouldn't hurt other people! I'm sure that whatever your differences are, we can just talk it out."

The girls, deciding not to further upset the loud shouty person with lungs of titanium, wisely agreed.

And that is how Nanoha Takamachi, Suzuka Tsukimura, and Alisa Bannings became friends.

A few months after that - in the middle of first grade - Nanoha also found herself becoming enamored with Western comic books and superheroes, entranced by the stories of men and women using superhuman powers for the benefit of all mankind, often via crimefighting or other world-saving activities. While it was true that similar themes could be found in a lot of the locally available manga and anime - moreso with mecha series than with others, it seemed - there was a particular style about the Western comics that hooked her. Maybe it was that they were almost always set in 'the real world' - or 'the real world plus conditions that allow for superheroes', at least - rather than some fictional land or the future.

The majority of 'Magical Girls' weren't included in Nanoha's definition of "superhero", largely on account that they too often used their powers either only for themselves, or - in some shows - to combat _one_ specific threat. She was smart enough to understand the conventions of the genre and not make a huge deal out of the distinction, and was more than happy to enjoy the shows on their own merits. But if one asked Nanoha who she wanted to be when she grew up, she would have answered with Storm of the X-Men, rather than with Sailor Moon.

And so when a real, live superhero showed up in G-Island City during Nanoha's second grade, she was completely and utterly _ecstatic_. The long, red-haired Green Lantern was everything she thought a proper superhero ought to be. With his ring allowing him to manifest anything he could imagine, along with several other purposes, Green Lantern was powerful enough - and smart enough - to save the day in almost _any_ crisis, he was kind to normal people, _never_ condescending, and in cases where he had to choose between saving innocents or bagging criminals, he always chose to save the innocents, which won him massive fan points with Nanoha. Even when a few supervillains had appeared to do battle with him, Green Lantern was brave enough to take them on, even all at once if need be. Given that he claimed to be a government agent for a top-secret branch of the JSSDF, this meant that he also held himself to the same standards as normal human beings, subservient to the very same laws as everyone else.

His tendency towards hot-blooded attack-calling in battle was something she found a _little_ cheesy, but awesome all the same.

The influence of Western comic books, her own strong sense of justice and desire to help others, and the existence of Green Lantern, as well as rumors of crimefighters in Mahora City and Hinata. These factors gradually gave her the idea of _actually_ becoming a costumed heroine someday, although despite her great power, it was often more of a fantasy.

It wasn't until third grade, however, that she would seriously consider taking up the burden of heroism.

And it all began with an unforseen encounter that would change her life forever.

* * *

_"The~ey know the fate of the world is lying in their hands! The~ey know to only use their weapons for defense! No one can ever take them down! The power lies on their si~ide!"_

The somewhat groggy redheaded third-grader reached for her phone alarm, turned it off, and shook the cobwebs out of her brain.

Opening the curtains, Nanoha took a moment to bask in the invigorating sunlight. Fully opening her eyes, she smiled. The girl loved sunny days, and the weather looked like it was going to be beautiful.

As she went about her morning routine, though, she began to recall bits and pieces of a peculiar dream. From what she could piece together, it seemed to involve a cute boy about her age dueling a giant evil dust bunny with his magic powers. "Note to self: watch _Power Rangers Turbo/Carranger_ marathons before bedtime more often."

Focusing on her hearing for a second, she quickly located the rest of her family - her mother was making breakfast, her father was nearby reading his paper, while her older siblings were training in the dojo.

Finished upstairs, she went on down to the kitchen and dining room. "Good morning Mother, Father!"

As one, Shiro and Momoko turned to their youngest daughter with a smile. "Good morning, Nanoha!"

Momoko asked, "Would you get Kyouya and Miyuki? Breakfast is almost ready, but it'll still be a few minutes, so you don't need to rush."

Nanoha happily nodded, "Sure!" and went outside, before taking flight.

While it wasn't at all necessary to reach the dojo in time, Nanoha loved flying through the air, so she rocketed above the cloud layer at just under the speed of sound, giggling just a bit.

After aimlessly soaring through the troposphere, Nanoha realized that it was time to head back down to Earth and get her siblings.

It was time for breakfast, after all... and there were pancakes to be had!

After a fantastic meal courtesy of the 'greatest chef in the world' according to Shiro and the kids, Nanoha made her way to the bus stop.

While she could easily have flown her way to school, or even run there at superspeed, taking the bus gave her some time to spend with her friends.

The three - Nanoha, Alisa, and Suzuka - spent the bus ride hanging out and talking about nothing in particular.

Later, during lunch, the girls discussed their plans for the future. Alisa and Suzuka had vague ideas about continuing in their family businesses. "What about you, Nanoha?"

Thinking about how she liked helping people, and also thinking about her personal role model Green Lantern, Nanoha replied, "When I grow up, I'd like to be a superhero and save the day."

Since they weren't aware of her superpowers, Suzuka and Alisa stared at her for a few seconds, before breaking into polite chuckles and hearty laughter respectively. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to help people," said Suzuka, "but I don't think superhero-ing is what our teacher was talking about."

Alisa added, "Yeah, I mean, even Green Lantern has a _job_ - we don't know who he is, but the news says that he's an officially deputized member of law enforcement, so he works for the government."

Nanoha scratched the back of her head a little, looking just a bit abashed. "Yeah, I'd kind of forgotten about that..."

Pausing for a few seconds, Suzuka suggested, "Maybe you could work in the journalism business?"

"What, you mean like a newspaper reporter?"

Nanoha unknowingly adopted a rather infamous pose from the anime _Neon Genesis Evangelion_, giving the idea some serious thought. Eventually, she nodded and said, "Yeah, I think I can see myself doing that. Nanoha Takamachi, ace reporter for the Tokyo Tribune!"

Alisa got a good laugh out of that. "Yeah, given how serious you are about a lot of things - not to mention how good your memory is and your fast typing speed - you'd probably be great as a journalist!"

* * *

Later that day, Nanoha, Suzuka, and Alisa were headed to prep school. Upon deciding to go through the park for a change of pace, Nanoha suddenly heard a faint whisper.

_Someone, hear my voice... lend me your powers..._

Not certain if she'd been imagining it or if she'd genuinely caught something with her super-hearing, Nanoha asked, "Did you guys hear something just now?"

Alisa cocked an eyebrow and muttered, "No," while Suzuka shook her head.

Still uneasy, Nanoha was almost prepared to dismiss it until she heard the voice again.

_Help me... Please, help me..._

She was now certain that _something_ was going on, although it now seemed to be something going directly into her head rather than something properly _heard_ through the ears.

Using her x-ray vision in conjunction with her super-hearing and telescopic vision, Nanoha searched the entire park for whatever was contacting her.

Almost immediately, she spotted a wounded and _very_ exhausted ferret some ways away on the path, and took off. Mindful of her friends, she kept her speed to an appropriate level for a baseline human of her age, but nevertheless she hurried. "I think the voice came from this direction!"

Soon coming face-to-face with the ferret, she saw that there was a string around its neck, with a big red gem attached.

Once Alisa and Suzuka caught up to their auburn-haired friend and saw the situation, Alisa began freaking out and Suzuka suggested taking the poor critter to a veterinarian.

Fortunately, the ferret would turn out to be mostly unhurt, if very tired. It briefly awoke, whereupon it nuzzled Nanoha's finger for a second, before then falling back to sleep.

* * *

After mentioning it to her family at dinner, Nanoha got approval to keep the ferret at their house for a while.

Upon texting Alisa and Suzuka about it, Nanoha heard the voice again inside her head - the voice she had begun to associate with the ferret.

_Are you there? Can you hear me? I know you can hear my voice. Please, I need you to lend me some of your power, just a small bit._

As Nanoha realized that the ferret was indeed talking to her from halfway across Uminari, she also realized that there was an innocent creature that needed her help.

Getting dressed again and preparing to fly out her bedroom window, Nanoha said, "Well, Peter Parker didn't save the world on day one..."

_Hurry, please! Time is... there's danger..._

That clenched it. With as much speed as she could muster without making a scene, Nanoha flew to the vet, intent on saving that ferret.

When she landed on arrival, she found the giant demon bunny from her dream assaulting the clinic while the ferret expertly evaded, eventually causing its pursuer to slam into a tree. At that time, the ferret caught sight of Nanoha and managed a _very_ impressive leap - even by ferret standards - into Nanoha's arms.

Before Nanoha could ask about what was going on, the ferret looked into her eyes and spoke openly. "You came to help me? Thank you so much!"

Nanoha considered freaking out, and who could blame her? She had a _talking ferret_ in her lap. Most people don't experience that kind of thing. Then again, most people aren't third graders who can fly, break the sound barrier, or single-handedly lift entire buildings over their heads, so it probably evened out."

Unsure of whether her invulnerability would protect her from being bitten by a giant demon rabbit, Nanoha took to the air and bolted, stealth be damned. Because, honestly, that creature was _really_ damn creepy, and it had turned its eyes on _her_.

The ferret almost freaked out over Nanoha going from ground level to the lower stratosphere in a near-instant, but then regained his composure before explaining the situation, just glad for the relative safety. "I came here from another world, searching for something. Something I lost because I wasn't careful enough. Thing is, it looks like I'm not strong enough to take care of things by myself, so I need your help. I'm really sorry for troubling you, but I promise that I'll find a way to make it up to you!"

Before he could continue, the demon rabbit morphed into a black cloud, before racing into the sky and ramming into Nanoha.

_OW! THAT HURT! ... Wait a second, that _hurt_ me. That thing was strong enough to leave a light bruise... okay then, I have to get rid of this thing before it can cause more trouble and try to hurt me, the ferret, or anyone else again!_

Taking in a long breath, Nanoha rapidly exhaled, freezing the cloud into a solid and condensed mass, before flying and dealing it a haymaker with her superhuman strength.

Little chunks fell off and evaporated away as it went rocketing far away.

The ferret's eyes bugged out for a second.

"... Not what I had in mind, but that works for the moment."

Now that the danger had definitely passed for a bit, Nanoha went back to ground level and asked, "Now then, why don't you tell me more about your problem?"

The ferret sighed, as though pondering where exactly to begin. "The power I use is magic, and the reason I've been able to communicate with you is because you have very strong magical potential. The creature is a thought-entity created by a Jewel Seed - one of twenty-one powerful magical artifacts that I uncovered during an excavation on another world."

Nanoha looked impressed. "You're an archaeologist? That's kind of awesome, considering you're a ferret and all."

"Actually, my true form is a human, indistinguishable from the citizens of your planet. However, one of my magical abilities is that I can shapeshift into this form. Because it's smaller and uses less energy, I can heal more quickly this way."

_He's a human who can shapeshift? No way! Wait a second, I can lift trains with one hand and I'm hovering at least a hundred feet above the ground. I guess it's kind of silly for me to be skeptical of this kind of thing..._

"So what happened after you excavated the Jewel Seeds?"

"I was trying to transport them to the authorities for study, but they got lost during an accident in hyperspace. I tracked their energy signatures to this planet and, luckily, they're mostly in a relatively tight area around this town, although there are a few others in different cities."

"I guess that kind of makes sense, if they're all part of a set then they'd probably stick sort of close together, wouldn't they? So how do we stop these things? That last one was strong enough to leave a slight bruise on me, and it's normally impossible to hurt me."

The not-really-a-ferret's eyes widened for a second, before he then seemed to ponder. "Tell me, are all the citizens of this world as powerful as you are?"

"What? No, I'm different from everyone else. For a while it really bugged me, but I'm kind of used to it now. Anyway, beating the Jewel Seeds?"

His tone a little bit dry, the ferret explained, "Well, you have to use a sealing spell on it in order to neutralize the magic and turn it back into a - relatively - harmless gem. Thing is, we need to be in the same place as the Jewel Seed to do that, and I don't have the energy to cast magic strong enough for the job."

Nanoha promptly realized that punching the evil giant dust bunny halfway across Japan was probably a bad idea, or at least a major complication. Still, she'd done what she thought was best at the time, and there was no use crying over spilt milk.

"So we need to go find it?"

The ferret nodded. "But first, we need to activate your magical powers. See this jewel, called a device? Take it and-"

Nanoha grinned, "Ooh, I know how this works! I say a catchphrase and activate the trinket, which turns me into a magic-using superhero, right?"

Yuuno, a little amused at her enthusiasm, replied, "Well, it gives you a wand and armor based on your imagination, so I guess that's true enough..."

"Awesome!"

Having, by this point, lowered them back to the ground, Nanoha struck a series of poses before raising the jewel to the sky and yelling, "Ectoplasm activate!"

Absolutely nothing happened. However, Nanoha wasn't one to give up, she simply tried again. "It's morphin' time!"

Still nothing. So she kept trying, with different poses each time.

"Henshin-a-go-go, baby! It's hero time! ... BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL!"

Still no effect, although the ferret was chuckling from the last one.

Sighing in light disappointment that none of her favorite calls would work, she asked, "Okay, what's the password I need to set up the -"

At that moment, the gem erupted into blinding light, before it faded to reveal a magic wand in her hands, and her clothes had morphed into a primarily white schoolgirl dress with blue highlights, a red bow, a skirt that went to her knees, and a thin cloth mask that covered her nose and the bottom half of her face.

"Transformation sequence?"

Then her mind caught up with what had happened, she took a quick look at her costume, and in a slightly distorted voice, asked, "So to activate the magic armor and stuff, I say 'set up'?"

"Actually, it's _supposed_ to be a five-second incantation, but I can see that you found a way around that. We'd better get going after that Seed, though - there's no telling what kind of trouble it might cause in the meantime if it breaks out of that icy prison, and the longer we take, the worse things will get. The device, called Raging Heart, has a preset mode that allows it to track Jewel Seeds and other artifacts of similar power once it's encountered them once, so finding this one shouldn't be too hard."

Nodding, Nanoha fiddled with Raging Heart for a second, until quickly figuring it out. Taking the ferret in her arms again, she realized, "Since we've got a little time on the way, let's introduce ourselves! I'm Nanoha Takamachi, and I'm in the third grade. My friends and family all call me Nanoha, so you can call me that too."

Nodding, the reply came "And my name is Yuuno Scrya. Scrya is the name of my clan, but you can call me Yuuno. And... I'm really sorry I got you into this. It's because I wasn't strong enough on my own..."

Nanoha lightly scolded him, "Hey, it's not your fault that the Jewel Seeds got lost, right? And besides, it feels nice helping others, so it's not a problem with me."

With that, Nanoha rocketed in the direction of the Jewel Seed she'd punched, allowing herself to go supersonic as she left the air above Uminari, Yuuno giving her a tutorial in sealing, defense, and attack magic along the way. Soon, however, her geography lessons caught up to her and as their destination came into sight, she suddenly stopped and gave out a little squee.

"Nanoha? What's up?"

As giddy as a schoolgirl could possibly be, Nanoha almost screamed in her delight. "We're going to _G-Island City_, Yuuno! That's where Japan's very own real life superhero Green Lantern is! I'm so excited I can barely stand it! I mean, I know we're not going to sightsee, but the idea that I'll get to meet him is just... well-"

Yuuno, despite his ferret form, managed to smile. "A Green Lantern, huh? I understand what you mean. Hopefully, he'll be willing to help us find the Jewel Seed, since he'll know his own city much better than we do."

Nanoha, now hellbent on meeting her idol, promptly accelerated to mach five, only to stop again upon nearing the city's airspace. Reverently, she gazed at the city that was built on and surrounded an artificial island. Despite the giant robot attacks that had begun to plague it and the nearby areas over the last few months, she couldn't find significant damage _anywhere_ from her vantage point high above the city - a true testament to the skill and dedication with which Green Lantern protected his home, be it as superhero or as a super robot pilot.

From Nanoha and Yuuno's left, someone asked, "Great view, isn't it?"

Still awestruck by G-Island City's magnificence, her reply was a subdued "Yeah..."

Then she realized that someone other than Yuuno and herself was several hundred feet above the ground, and had spoken to her. Snapping her head to the left, she saw a man with long red hair, black armor with green highlights, a green aura about him, and a domino mask.

Completely losing any sense of composure, she started gushing, "Ohmigod mister Green Lantern, I'm your biggest fan! I've followed your exploits ever since your debut, and I want to be fearless and heroic like you when I grow up! Can I shake your hand?!"

Hiding most of his surprise well, Green Lantern good-naturedly chided, "Hey now, don't call me 'mister' - I'm only twenty years old! You can just call me Green Lantern, or GL for short. So, mind if I ask what a grade schooler's doing in the middle of the night in my town?"

Nanoha, with help from Yuuno, quickly explained the situation to the older superhero.

After calmly listening to their story, Green Lantern calmly asked, "So let me get this straight - a series of magic-based weapons of alien origin has found its way to Earth, and you're trying to find them and render them harmless?"

Yuuno explained, "While the Jewel Seeds can, unfortunately, be _used_ for destructive purposes, I don't believe that that's what they're _supposed_ to be used for. Like I said, I had sent them off to be studied when the accident happened and they wound up here."

"Fair enough, I'll give you that." Green Lantern thought it over for a few seconds. "What I _should_ do is send you home and then collaborate with the TSAB to resolve the situation, since as a Green Lantern I'm responsible for this entire sector of the galaxy. On top of that, you've probably got school tomorrow, and I'd imagine that your family is worried about you if they know you're missing."

Nanoha had been so caught up in everything else that she'd forgotten about that, and what was visible of her face promptly went as red as her - and Green Lantern's - hair.

He then continued, "While there's precedent for handing jurisidiction to TSAB officers in this kind of case, and they _do_ recruit children, something tells me that neither of you are Enforcers of the Time and Space Administration Bureau."

Their guilty expressions answered for them.

However, Green Lantern ruffled Nanoha's hair a little as he said with a smile, "On the other hand, the TSAB is also a lot more lax about letting civilians resolve crises as long as there's no criminal activity involved. In that light, I'm going to assist you in dealing with these Jewel Seeds when I can, and I'll put in a good word with the Corps, the Bureau, and - if need be - the government, on your behalf."

Nanoha cheered. Green Lantern wasn't quite finished, however.

"I want your sworn oath, though, that you won't use your magic or other powers to take law enforcement upon yourself unless lives are at stake and there's no other resolution, or if the organization with appropriate jurisdiction has agreed to accept and sanction your actions. If you want to work with the police or the government - be it Japanese, Earth, TSAB, etc. - later in life and are deputized, or want to help deal with natural disasters, then that's another story."

Nodding gravely, Nanoha and Yuuno both promised to obey the conditions he'd set.

Green Lantern smiled at that. "You've given your word, and that's good enough for me. Now then, if you'd like a hand tracking the Jewel Seed, I'd be more than happy to give you a hand."

As Raging Heart transferred the Seed's energy signature to GL's ring, Nanoha performed a Wide-Area Search spell that covered half the city, while Green Lantern quickly scanned the other half.

Yuuno said, "Green Lantern, I'm kind of surprised at how unsurprised you were to find out that my friend has amazing powers other than her magic."

Nonchalant as could be, GL replied, "To be honest, you aren't the first kid I've met to have naturally-ocurring superpowers, including flight. He's a friend of mine, actually, and a valued comrade when Zonders show up. I still made him take the same oath that you did about not being a vigilante, though."

At the same time, GL and Nanoha locked onto the Jewel Seed, and with a nod, the two rocketed towards one of G-Island City's many skyscrapers. Upon arrival, however, they saw that what was once merely a huge evil rabbit had now become more like a gargoyle thirty meters tall.

"It wasn't that big earlier!" Nanoha yelled.

"Of course! Jewel Seeds continually increase their own energy output, so a creature made by one will gradually get bigger and stronger over time!"

As Green Lantern muttered, "Better keep damage to a minimum" he outstretched his right hand, which bore his power ring, and formed a construct that looked a bit like a high-tech jackhammer. Pointy end first, he then pierced the street as the ring-formed machine activated.

"DIVIIIIIIIDING... DRIIIIIIIIIIIIIVEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEER!"

Over the next three seconds, the construct completely warped dimensional space, opening a hole in the street which then grew exponentially to cover the better part of a mile, while compressing the city around it and causing absolutely _zero_ damage to the city in the process.

Meanwhile, Nanoha appeared behind the Jewel Seed and punched it into the area created by the ring-formed Dividing Driver. Allowing herself about two seconds to fangirl over the situation, Nanoha observed, "Now we can go maximum power without destroying the city!"

GL shouted, "We've only got three minutes before the dividing field gives out and it returns to normal!"

And with that, she promptly blasted the Jewel Seed monster with her heat vision, driving it into the barren ground, before pointing at it with Raging Heart, creating several floating pink spheres.

"Axel Shooter."

And then the pink spheres rocketed at the Jewel Seed, further weakening it.

Green Lantern, now standing on the ground a bit away from the Jewel Seed, pinned it to the ground with an energy field on its limbs, while Nanoha reconfigured Raging Heart to Shooting Mode.

Nanoha yelled, "Lyrical magical!" as Raging Heart confirmed the spell.

"Divine Buster."

As Nanoha and Green Lantern let loose a volley of pink destruction and emerald hellfire, the Jewel Seed creature had about a second and a half to wimper before being pummeled by the two attacks.

As the dust settled, the Jewel Seed beast managed to get back to its feet, but had been weakened enough that Nanoha could easily seal it, and did. About a minute after that, the battleground started closing back in on itself, in a perfect reversal of its creation, and once it was finished, there wasn't any indication of a battle at all, nor were there any traces that there had briefly been a half mile-wide crater in the middle of the street.

"Wow... so that's the kind of thing we can do..."

If Nanoha were to be perfectly honest with herself, she was a little intimidated by what she'd just seen. After all, Green Lantern had just bent the fabric of dimensional space, while she'd fired several pink laser beams, in addition to stronger, less controllable heat beams.

GL asked, "Really puts it into perspective, doesn't it? The kind of damage we could cause if we ever lost control, or didn't take pre-emptive measures to prevent it."

Nodding, the magical girl replied, "Yeah, it does."

Then, she remembered once again that it was the middle of a school night and that her family had no idea where she was. And given that they were ninjas, the odds that they were blissfully unaware and asleep were slim. Very slim indeed. "I'm _so_ dead when I get home..."

Grinning a bit, Green Lantern offered, "I can cover for you, if you like."

Eyes widened, Nanoha asked, "You can do that?"

"Sure thing," GL nodded. "After all, what kind of person would refuse to help out a friend in need, much less a fellow superhero?"

Yuuno didn't have anything to say, keeping his thought to himself as Green Lantern made a quick call, presumably to his superiors. About a minute later, the man turned and said, "Arrangements have been made."

He then produced a small pager, in the shape of a diamond that had been split into four smaller diamonds. While the top, bottom, and left segments had a stylized G shape, the right segment had a small screen.

"If this ever goes off," Lantern explained, "it means I've run into another Jewel Seed in my city If you should discover a Zonder in your town, press the button on the back of it to contact me."

Yuuno observed, "That's really useful. Thank you for providing your assistance, mister!"

"Didn't I tell you not to call me mister?!"

* * *

A short while later, Nanoha was back in her civilian clothes, riding on the back of a police motorcycle through the streets of Uminari. She was wearing a helmet, of course. Yuuno was held very securely in Nanoha's arms.

Sure enough, upon pulling up in front of the Takamachi home, Nanoha grimaced beneath her helmet as she saw her family. And once they saw that she was with a policeman, their worried expressions intensified a hundredfold.

Cool as a cucumber, the officer strode up - Nanoha right behind him - and produced a badge. "Guy Shishioh, federal agent. Pleasure to meet you."

Shiro Takamachi stepped forward. "Is Nanoha in any kind of trouble, officer?"

Guy shook his head. "Not at all. There was an incident at a local veterinarian a few hours ago, which your daughter witnessed. We took a few statements from her, but there was a lot of paperwork involved, and I'm afraid that it held things up for quite some time. Would've finished sooner, if more than one person ever went through and _did_ it..." The last bit was a somewhat irritated mumble.

Relieved that Nanoha was okay and hadn't gotten caught up in anything too horrible, Shiro let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. Giving his youngest daughter a big hug, Shiro said, "I'm so glad you're okay, Nanoha... We all are. And thank you, officer Shishioh, for bringing us our daughter safe and sound."

While neither Shiro nor the rest of the family knew of anything that could actually _hurt_ Nanoha, that had done nothing to diminish that terror which all parents share: fear for the safety of their child.

With a slight bow, Guy went back to his bike. "Just call me Guy. Everyone else does."

After he'd sped off, the rest of the family joined Shiro in giving Nanoha a massive hug and being grateful for her safety, although a minute later, Kyouya posed a very important question.

"While we're glad that you're okay and all, just what were you doing at an animal clinic in the first place?"

"W-well, I was really worried about the ferret, so I went to check up on him."

She then raised up Yuuno... which led to Momoko and Miyuki nearly passing out from cuteness overload. And when he proved his intelligence by shaking Shiro's hand, they just went _wild_.

* * *

**If you enjoyed this fic, then please leave an encouraging review!**

**If you hated this fic and everything it represents, then... lie to my face and leave an encouraging review anyway!**

**Now for some quick notes.**

**Nanoha's barrier jacket is slightly modified, in keeping with this story being more superhero than magical girl. As a result, her skirt is a little bit shorter, and she has a ninja mask to help disguise her voice and protect her secret identity. Raging Heart's design is totally unchanged, though.**

**Green Lantern, for those not familiar with semi-obscure mecha shows, is Guy Shishioh from **_**King of Braves GaoGaiGar**_**. He's actually kind of similar to Hal Jordan, but is more hotblooded in a fight, and **_**much**_** calmer/more restrained the rest of the time. Where Jordan's a cowboy cop, Guy does things by the book. While this Green Lantern disapproves of vigilantism, he understands that - more often than not - the other crimefighter's heart is in the right place, so he's willing to be reasonable and talk things out. Since Supergirl is a third-grader and not yet adventuring **_**as**_** a superhero, GL fills the role of "first superhero that everybody looks up to and is inspired by" for this 'verse. Subaru from StrikerS is said to be based off of his mecha, GaoGaiGar. I'm not sure if I'll actually give GL a fic of his own, on account of how little-known his show is, but if there's fan support then I'll encourage it.**

**He won't be showing up too freqently, so if anybody's worried about that, you can rest easy. This is Nanoha's fic, after all. She may team up with the other superheroes in the setting on occasion, but I will never let them overshadow the Girl of Tomorrow in her own story, be it in epic moments or in screentime.**


	3. A Chat and a Beatdown

_"'Cause I still believe in miracles, I swear I've seen a few, and the time will surely come when you can see my point of view. I believe in second chances and that's why I believe in you!"_

The somewhat groggy redheaded third-grader reached for her phone alarm, turned it off, and shook the cobwebs out of her brain.

Opening the curtains, Nanoha took a moment to watch the sky. "Aw, it looks like there might be rain later..."

As she went about her morning routine, though, she bumped into Kyouya, who had a serious expression on his face. "Nanoha, I'd like to talk to you in private for a few minutes."

Toothbrush sticking out of her face, Nanoha stared at him questioningly.

"It's about last night. Specifically, about you coming home so late."

Nanoha cutely furrowed her brow as she tried to remember, being a bit slow to fully awaken on cloudy days. Kyouya perfectly timed a mental countdown. _Reaction in three... two... one..._

Nanoha's brow promptly unfurrowed, and her body language became the college textbook definition of anxious. Slowly and deliberately, Nanoha finished brushing her teeth, before turning to face him. "Yes, big brother?"

Kyouya took a moment to precisely choose his words - or perhaps it was merely a pause for dramatic effect, Nanoha could never be sure - before saying, "You're a good kid, and I'm certain that you didn't _lie_ to us about why you left and were then so late coming home. On the other hand, something seems a little off. I don't think you told us the entire truth, either."

At this point, he leaned against the wall and heaved a sigh. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"

Nanoha gulped, before hanging her head in shame. Seeing this, Kyouya explained, "Listen, I'm asking because I care and I'm worried. I didn't bring it up last night because we were too relieved to have you back."

His expression softened a bit as he added, "You're not in trouble unless you've done something wrong. While we would've appreciated it if you'd at least left a note that you were going to check on the ferret, you know our parents are pretty relaxed about it when compared to most. That man, Guy Shishioh, said he was a federal agent. So if it's something that you're seriously not supposed to tell us - top secret information or something - then I won't press you about it."

Nanoha took a moment to absorb what was said, then spent a few minutes trying to figure out how to verbalize her thoughts, and then said, "It's kind of top secret, I think, but not for the reasons you think. I'm kind of in a grey area. I mean, I wasn't exactly told _not_ to tell anyone about it, but I'm really not sure that I'm supposed to, either..."

Kyouya raised an eyebrow. "Are you doing something that would seriously upset our parents, Miyuki, me, or anyone else you know?"

Nanoha rapidly shook her head. "No, I promise it's not anything like that... It's... Well, you know how you and Miyuki aren't really supposed to tell anyone else about your ninja training?"

"I think I understand what you're getting at, although I'm curious about what someone of your age would be into that calls for that kind of secrecy."

At that point, Nanoha just blurted out, "I volunteered to help the ferret and the magical space police deal with a missing property case!"

Kyouya paused, raised his eyebrow, mulled it over, and under his breath muttered, "And yet that is _still_ not the weirdest sentence I've ever heard out of your mouth."

Then, back at normal volume, he said, "I suppose I can accept that. Between dinosaurs trying to wipe out humanity in the seventies, alien machine invaders in G-Island City, the existence of beings with superpowers, and some of the out-there things I've seen on my occasional missions, magical space police isn't really that big of a stretch. I'm guessing that the damage at the vet is related to this missing property case?"

Nanoha nodded, very relieved that a) he was taking it so well and b) she'd gotten it off of her chest. Kyouya opened the bathroom door and went into the hall, speaking over his shoulder as he left. "I suppose if anyone's equipped to help them out, you are. If you want to talk further, I'll be around to listen."

He then stopped. "One thing, though - promise me that if things get to a point where you need our help or support, don't you dare hesitate. Got me?"

Nanoha nodded very quickly. "I promise, big brother!"

A light teasing tone in his voice, he commanded, "Swear it on your _Kamen Rider Den-O_ poster!"

Snapping to attention, Nanoha faux-seriously declared, "I swear this solemn oath by Momo-chan!"

Kyouya actually laughed at that. Not a chuckle, but a hearty, honest-to-god laugh. "And we all know that oaths sworn by Momo-chan are unbreakable. Now c'mon, let's get some breakfast. I'll keep your secret as long as doing so doesn't hurt anybody."

The little girl nodded, accepting that. Then she promptly followed him down to breakfast. After all, her superhuman senses had caught the smell of _eggs_. And as the Takamachi family knew very well, where there were eggs, there would soon be a drooling Nanoha.

Rule number forty-three of the Takamachi household: do not attempt to stand between Nanoha and eggs. It _will_ end poorly.

Kyouya suddenly stopped. "One last thing."

"Yes, big brother?"

"I want to have a talk with that ferret later on..."

* * *

Nanoha hadn't had a chance to speak with Yuuno since they'd come home last night, primarily as a result of Momoko going into cuteness overload and basically monopolizing the poor critter for most of the night.

That Yuuno proved clever enough to do any trick short of using The Force didn't make her any less enthusiastic.

And then, after breakfast, Nanoha brought Yuuno some cookies before she left for school... at which point Kyouya went outside with him, intent on further discussing the circumstances of the situation.

"So you're actually an alien human in ferret form in order to more effectively heal yourself?"

Yuuno nodded. "That's right."

"And you're working with Nanoha because..."

"She has extraordinarily great magical power, in addition to her other abilities. To be perfectly honest, though, I just wished for someone to help me."

"I see. And you don't have any ulterior motives in being around my little sister?"

Yuuno tilted his head in confusion. "Like what?"

Deciding that Yuuno was exactly what he appeared to be - a good-natured young man, Kyouya replied, "Never mind, just... older brother stuff. I'm sure it'll come to you in a few years. Speaking of, just how old are you?"

Yuuno paused for a moment. "I'm not sure about conversion to Earth years, but somewhere around Nanoha's age."

Meanwhile, at school, Nanoha was reassuring her friends Alisa and Suzuka that the ferret was fine and at her place. However, she once again had to hide the full scope of the truth from them. While she still wasn't very comfortable with it, she realized that it was for the best, at least for now.

She'd brought Raging Heart with her on the chance that she'd encounter a Jewel Seed at some point in the day, but she was nonetheless startled when she heard Yuuno's voice in her head.

_'Nanoha, are you free at the moment? I'd like to tell you more about the Jewel Seeds, if that's all right.'_

_Huh? Yuuno? How are you inside my head?_

_'Oh, I'm sorry, I meant to tell you before that as long as you have Raging Heart with you, you can communicate telepathically with other magic-users like myself.'_

_It's not a problem, you just surprised me, that's all. I'm sure that anything you can tell me could be helpful later on. So then, what have you got?_

_'Where I come from, the Jewel Seeds are ancient artifacts. From what I've been able to learn so far, they're normally activated by a wish or desire of someone holding them, and they continually become more powerful over time.'_

_An infinite energy source that keeps getting stronger? Sounds a lot like the Zeo crystal to me._

_'Right, except that the Jewel Seeds appear to be pretty unstable, and it looks like they have a tendency to self-activate and go berserk in search of someone - or something - that can fully wield its power. And if that power should ever be misused or fall into the wrong hands...'_

Yuuno didn't finish the thought, and Nanoha didn't need him to.

_Don't worry about a thing, Yuuno, I'll be there to help you every step of the way!_

_'I... I want to apologize again, for getting you involved in this. I just need a little more time to rest, so that my powers can return to full. I think... just a few days will be enough. After that, I'll continue on alone.'_

_I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Yuuno._

Though she couldn't see it, Yuuno tilted his head a bit in confusion. _'What do you mean, you can't? You'll be in danger time and time again, like last night, and we can't count on another superhero being around to back you up.'_

Inside her head, Nanoha huffed a bit. _If I'm not there with you, then _you'll_ be in even more danger than without me. Besides, I think we'll be able to pull through with just the two of us. On top of that, you're alone and don't have anyone else to help you. My dad taught me that if someone's in need and you have the power to make a difference, then helping them is a no-brainer!_

Yuuno realized that this girl was incredibly stubborn about helping him, so he just smiled and 'said', _'... Thank you, Nanoha.'_

_So... want some snacks when I get home?_

_'Eh? Sure, I guess. Thanks!'_

A few hours later, on her way home, Nanoha froze, as she felt a powerful energy pulse.

_Yuuno, what was that?_

The ferret narrowed his eyes and began a teleportation spell, intent on making his way towards Nanoha. _'That signals the activation of another Jewel Seed. Let's head over there and seal it as quickly as possible.'_

_Right!_

With a determined nod, Nanoha ducked into an abandoned alleyway before rocketing into the sky so she could get a better view of the city. Taking a moment to steady herself for the upcoming influx of information, she cast her x-ray and telescopic vision about the city, searching for the Jewel Seed - and by that, it's meant 'anything conspicuously out of place'.

At the same time, she activated her super-hearing, and nearly passed out from auditory overload. Even so, she forced herself to stay conscious, searching for any indication of -

Terrified screams from the park. Target found.

Turning her gaze in that direction, she spied the form the Jewel Seed had taken. Having apparently possessed an animal of some kind, it now resembled something between a wolf and a boar.

Just as she was about to fly over there, a glyph made of green energy appeared around her, and after a flash of light she found Yuuno on her shoulder. "Let's do this, Nanoha."

With a great big smile, she agreed. "Right!"

Deciding that she might as well transform now, she struck a pose out of _Ultraman_ and yelled, "Raging Heart... Set! UP!"

As before, she was enveloped in a pink flash of light that erased her civilian clothes and put her in her barrier jacket, with magic staff in hand.

Now that others would have trouble identifying Nanoha by her obscured face and muffled voice, she flew at the Jewel Seed as fast as she could go without making a sonic boom.

"Hey, Jewel Seed!"

The beast looked up at the noise, and promptly got a white-gloved fist colliding with its face.

The Jewel Seed sped backwards through the air, crashing through several trees and leaving a rut in the ground.

Landing, Nanoha muttered, "Note to self - next time, hold back a bit more..."

Then, in the blink of an eye, she used her superspeed to appear right next to the monster, before kicking it high into the air.

Then, without moving further, she looked at her device and said, "Since there's nothing to break in the sky, let's keep it there and minimize property damage. If you would, Raging Heart?"

"Ready. Standing by."

With a smile, Nanoha took a shooting stance and aimed Raging Heart at the falling Jewel Seed with one hand. "Lyrical magical!"

"Axel Shooter."

The device formed several pink spheres before shooting the target with them at a high rate of speed, timing each hit so that the Jewel Seed beast was knocked further into the air just as gravity would've reasserted its hold.

Observing that it looked pretty battered, Yuuno decided, "Okay, now's the time to seal it!"

"Roger that, Yuuno!"

"Sealing mode."

Rocketing into the air, Raging Heart blasted the beast with the sealing spell, reducing it to a Jewel Seed and a cute little dog.

"Serial number 16, sealed."

Nanoha deftly caught the animal and lowered it to the ground, setting it near the woman who'd screamed. Taking a second to check her for injuries - and then taking another second to chide herself for not having done that _first_ - Nanoha was relieved to find none.

Reversing her transformation and returning to her civvies, Nanoha asked, "I guess that's a good day's work, huh Yuuno?"

Yuuno nodded. "I couldn't agree with you more."

As they began heading home, Nanoha asked, "Hey, Yuuno, when do you think you'll be able to show me your human form?"

"I could now, but I'd rather wait a few days, so that my magic will be fully recovered."

* * *

**If you enjoyed this fic, then please leave an encouraging review!**

**If you hated this fic and everything it represents, then... lie to my face and leave an encouraging review anyway!**

**Now for some quick notes/replies.**

**A few of you have wondered why I'm not listing this as a crossover. The primary reasons for that are a) marketing - meaning that more people are likely to see it and check it out if I leave it in the main MGLN category, and b) even though it's obviously a Superman fusion fic and there are occasional crossover characters/events/elements/chapters/etc., I don't personally consider this a crossover story. It's a fic with crossovers, yes, but in my mind that doesn't necessarily make it a 'crossover fic'.**

**A few others among you have voiced concerns that Nanoha's too overpowered, since she not only has Kryptonian powers under a yellow sun, but her uber linker core from canon. I understand and appreciate these concerns. Just stick with me like you have thus far, and I don't think you'll be disappointed.**

**I was also surprised by how much support GL got. Which is to say, I'm surprised that at least three of you had even heard of **_**GaoGaiGar**_**, much less wanted to see a fic starring him. If I get a total of ten reviews asking for a GL fic, then I'll do one.**

**Also, special fan points to anyone who can catch all the references to other works. Yes, including last chapter's, too. What can you do with these fan points? Review and find out!**


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